Fans pose for a photo with The Fallout franchise Mascot “Vault Boy” in their official Fallout 76 gear donated to the WV Tourism Office by Bethesda Softwares.
Exclusive partnership provides fans with list of real-life WV sites to visit
The West Virginia Tourism Office celebrated the worldwide launch of Bethesda Softworks’ video game Fallout 76 on Wednesday, Nov. 14, the latest edition of its blockbuster game series in which players explore different parts of a post-apocalyptic America.
The Tourism Office announced a formal agreement with Bethesda last month and marked the official game launch, called “Reclamation Day,” with an interactive game map and launch celebration at the State Capitol.
“West Virginia has never had a tourism opportunity quite like this. Fallout 76, will introduce the state to a new audience of millions who will be exposed to the state through an award-winning game that they are passionate about,” Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby said. “It has been great getting to work closely with the leadership team at Bethesda to learn the ins and outs of the game and find one-of-a-kind ways to grow this partnership.”
The West Virginia edition is the company’s most ambitious game universe to date, covering a much larger geographical area than ever before and playing up local West Virginia lore. Previous editions in the Fallout® series were set in Washington, DC, and Boston. The game will offer many loyal fans their first glimpse of West Virginia, creating a unique opportunity to promote tourism to a new audience.
Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby, far right, joins colleagues, friends and Fallout fans in a discussion about the newly released Bethesda Softwares’ Fallout 76 during a play though at the WV Tourism Office.
The Tourism Office has been working behind the scenes with the award-winning game developer to devise a promotional strategy that capitalizes on interest from the game to drive visitation to the state.
An exclusive interactive map of all real-life West Virginia locations in the game launched today on WVtourism.com to coincide with the official game release. The map holds the official list of sites and allows visitors to explore online, sharing facts and information about each location along the way.
“Folks have been speculating for months about which West Virginia landmarks would be in the game, and today, we were able to release the full list. With Bethesda’s help, we’ve developed an interactive map that shows which sites in the game are based on real-life West Virginia attractions. The early response has been incredible. Within an hour of that map going live, we had thousands of gamers on the West Virginia tourism website learning about the real attractions,” Ruby continued.
The game’s mascot, Vault Boy, was on hand at the Tourism Office in Charleston to meet and greet fans. The first 100 attendees received official Fallout merchandise provided by Bethesda. Governor Justice issued a proclamation to commemorate the occasion.
More Fallout 76-related promotions will roll out over the coming months. To stay up-to-date, view the interactive map, visit WVtourism.com/Fallout76.
